Why Do Some Christians Fear Yoga?
I really don’t get this freaky deaky fear that some Christians have over yoga. Is it really so horrible to expose yourself to other religious thought?
Or are certain fundamentalist Christian leaders worried that if people got a taste of something else, they might like it better? People doing yoga may not fill their donation box as much…
I also don’t get this nitpicking over the concept of God. Some Christians criticize Hinduism, claiming it’s wrong to suggest that God is “everything” even though whenever I went to Sunday School, they told me that God was “everywhere.” Seems to me it’s the same difference. God is GOD; our descriptions of him/her/it will forever be limited.
Not all Christians react in a fear-based manner. Here is a snippet from a thoughtful commentary from Bishop T.D. Jakes.
However, if I am a Christian, then the fact that I do yoga to enhance my physical condition, or meditate to help me clear my mind, do not change my beliefs in Christianity or remove or weaken my faith. My primary concern only lies with wondering if new Christians are adept at discerning where breathing and meditation end, and a newfound religion begins. Like many things in life, perhaps the answer lies in each individual’s ability to have boundaries that are adjusted to his or her maturity level as a Christian.
That seems reasonable to me.
At any rate, I have been reading a few books on Christian Yoga, and the yoga is generally sound but some of the Christian thought processes are really interesting. I will share some reviews here soon.
For the purpose of clarification–(because I agree with you)
MODERN Christianity believes this: (an extremely dumbed down version for the sake of not wanting to sit here all night typing it out…)
1.There is God.God = ONE TRUE Deity. Only Deity.
2.There is creation (including you and me). = not deity. Purpose=to be saved.
3.There is satan= Not deity. purpose= to keep you from being saved.
So in christianity, there IS only one god, one view and it is dualistic. Everything else that pulls you away from that (ie: exposing yourself to other religions or ideas) is from satan and therefore false.
You can see the problem? You don’t have to agree with their thinking, but at least maybe you can understand that’s the basic premise of MOST of christians out there. It’s why Yoga = bad. It’s not the poses. It’s the history, the philosophy. Like I said, I agree with you. I went to a Christian college. I found it to be soul-crushing. Yoga has opened up my heart to a whole new truth, which, oddly enough, doesn’t negate any of my beliefs in god, but enhances them. But see, a modern christian would call me corrupted….
That’s unfortunately the theology of some Christians, but not all Christians. I grew up Christian and they never pushed this “you must be SAVED / Satan is out to get you” stuff down our throats.
Furthermore, many Christian theologians would probably find some similarities between the Christian God and the Hindu “Brahman.” Depends on the wing of Christianity. Unfortunately, rigid-thinking “holy rollers” have taken over the Christian dialogue recently, it seems.
How do we know that Jesus did not practice yoga and/or meditation ???
i could not agree more with td jakes. I am what most would consider a ‘born again believer’….but i have never considered my yoga practice as a religion….although i respect that some do. to me, yoga is a gift from God- something that i use to enhance my overall health and well being, in a natural and healing way.